Aziz Motawa
Kuwaiti, B. 1995
Aziz Motawa is a visual artist who works with photography, video, installations, and sound. He is based in Kuwait and Bahrain, and his work is research-based, drawing on neglected ecologies and the complexities of landscapes. Scroll through to explore Aziz's artworks and extended biography.
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Aziz's Artworks
Featured Artwork
Bluebird
Bluebird, a continuation of Aziz’s Township project, captures the bold iconography of the Kuwait Oil Company. Through a similar color palette of pastel reds and blues, the photograph positions the iconic blue falcon high up in the frame, highlighting its authority of its surroundings.
As a symbol of industry and modernity, the logo’s extended height acts as a reminder that the city that surrounds it is manufactured by Kuwait’s oil industry.
Biography
Aziz Motawa is a visual artist who works with photography, video, installations, and sound. He is based in Kuwait and Bahrain, and his work is research-based, drawing on neglected ecologies and the complexities of landscapes.
At the heart of his practice is an examination of the social and ecological implications of urban development and state building on peripheral ecologies. In his process, Aziz conducts photographic studies of coastal areas and researches the complexities of interwoven narratives and histories. His photographs raise questions about his position within his surrounding landscape, whether as a quiet spectator, an organic extension, or an unnatural intervention.
Aziz's works have been featured in multiple publications and magazines, including Khaleejesque, Pin Up, and
Brownbook magazines. He has organized and taken part in several presentations and artist talks which extensively cover photographic practices. He has presented artworks in several solo and group exhibitions, both in Kuwait and abroad. His most recent solo exhibition, Ala Taraf Lisan Al Ard, was held at the historic Sultan Gallery in Kuwait (2023).
Aziz has played a significant role in several projects across Kuwait’s creative landscape. He has organized exhibitions at Dar Al Funoon, CAP Gallery, the Hub Gallery, and the Amricani Cultural Center. He also co-organized a regional cultural program across six Arab cities as part of the Nuqat Creative Conference (2019). His latest endeavor is founding Akkaz Collective, an interdisciplinary art and research group examining counter-narrative histories in the Gulf with a forthcoming exhibition at the Venice Biennale of Architecture (2023).
Exhibition History
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Ala Taraf Lisan Al Ard, Sultan Gallery, Kuwait
2017Absence, Visual Therapy Gallery, Kuwait
Group Exhibitions
2023 Beyond the Scattering Horizon, Venice Biennale of Architecture, Italy (forthcoming)
2023 One end: Always present, Al Riwaq, Bahrain
2022 At the Edge, Bin Matar House, Bahrain
2018 Re-use, The Scientific Center, Kuwait
2017 The Nest, Al Riwaq, Bahrain
Award History
2023 Digital features on Mathqaf, Canvas Mag
2021 Khaleejesque Magazine, collaboration with artist Zahra Mahdi and Dana Aljouder
2019-2020 Features on Pin-Up magazine, Brownbook Magazine
2018 Possibility of a Cheap Ecology, publication in collaboration with Civil Architecture
2017 The Unseen Kuwait, feature on Khaleejesque Magazine
Talks
2023 Artists Majlis, Al Riwaq, Bahrain
2023 Self-Publishing Photo Books Discussion, Al Riwaq, Bahrain / Studio Khemiae, Kuwait
2023 Artist Talk at Sultan Gallery, Kuwait
2023 Archiving the Future, Al Riwaq, Bahrain
2022 Landscapes as Social Product, Al Riwaq, Bahrain
2022 At the Edge, Artist Talk, Bin Matar House, Bahrain
Residencies
2022 - 2023 Folio, Online residency, Phmuseum Italy
2022 Nexus, Al Riwaq, Bahrain
2022 Praxis, BICAR Institute